Mold warranties: Providing a good warranty that protects both you (the mold builder) and your customer

Customers often want their mold suppliers to provide a "guarantee" or warranty on the molds they purchase as a way of ensuring that the mold builder will fix any problems that arise during the life of the mold. However, given the many variables that are involved once a mold is in production, knowing what to provide in the way of a warranty is a tough call. Fact is that high-dollar, complex molds often end up in molding facilities where mold maintenance is an afterthought, rather than a priority.

Still, mold manufacturers are often asked to provide a blanket "warranty" on molds, which means that any warranty they do agree to is often vague. Tim Peterson, vice president of Industrial Molds Group (Rockford, IL), says that there are several factors his company considers when it negotiates a warranty. "We look at the complexity of the mold: does it have a lot of actions such as slides, lifters, or unscrewing mechanisms? Does it have a lot of small core pins? How many cavities? And what type of material will be running in the mold?" Peterson explains,  "Many of these new engineering grade resins, which many of our customers use in molding their parts, such as glass-filled material, can cause more wear on a mold than other types of materials such as unfilled polypropylene. To put a blanket warranty on every mold we build guaranteeing how long the mold will last isn't good policy."

Obviously, the mold manufacturer wants to mitigate his risk once a mold is in production, and the customer or OEM's molder also wants to reduce their risk. Ultimately, mold standards must be re-evaluated for today's materials, and the responsibility, costs - and the risks -- have to be shared between the mold manufacturer and the molder and/or OEM.            

One thing Peterson suggests is contacting Tooling Docs, a company in Ashland, OH, that offers a Maintenance Capability Assessment (MCA) program. Randy Winton, global assessment manager for ToolingDocs, travels to molding facilities to assess the capabilities of molders to maintain molds. Winton then develops an MCA scorecard that scores molders from 1-5 on their level of maintenance capabilities.  The higher the MCA score, the less risk the mold builder takes with any warranty he signs.

Winton then creates a concise report on what the molder is good at and what needs improvement with respect to its mold maintenance procedures.  As a mold builder, Peterson says that he can then evaluate the level of risk in providing a warranty to the customer based on the results of the MCA. ToolingDocs also provides the training and guidance to help molders and/or the OEM improve their maintenance capabilities.

"We at Industrial Molds are much more willing to provide a better warranty on the molds we build if we know that the company doing the molding has had an MCA and their maintenance certification, than one without a certification, because we have the confidence that the molds will be maintained properly," says Peterson.

Mold Warranty template

Because warranties are typically vague, ToolingDocs developed a mold warranty that can be used as a template for moldmakers who need to know what to provide. "A lot of OEMs' dollars are very tight right now and they want more and more - longer life molds, more cycles, and longer warranty periods," says Randy Winton. "Both parties need something in writing so they know exactly what they're getting and giving when it comes to a mold warranty. We're trying to support mold builders and help them protect themselves while providing assurance to their customers that they are building a high-quality mold."

ToolingDocs Mold Warranty template outlines what will - and what won't - be covered, and provides an outline of the responsibilities and obligations for everyone - the customer, the mold builder and the molder.

The company even has lawyers evaluate the Mold Warranty template and make sure it is all legal, however it can be edited to suit an individual mold maker's needs, Winton notes.

ToolingDocs urges anyone who uses the template to review the document with their lawyers to make sure it suits the individual mold maker's needs, Winton notes.

The Mold Warranty template can be downloaded and used as needed by going to www.toolingdocs.com.